Alli Howe, MPH, CHES began parenthood with a lot of anxiety, but quickly traded in her panic for a fun, positive approach to family health. She uses her training in marketing and health education to rally people around healthy living. Alli blogs at Don’t Panic Mom and writes for her local newspaper about healthy living in a rural community. She lives in northeastern Colorado with her three kids, hunky husband, and nine chickens. Follow her on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and Twitter.

I would squeal with delight when my mom brought home a box of Count Chocula. After all, I’m the byproduct of growing up in the 80s. Breakfast included a few mornings with eggs, but generally it was something out of a box. My husband also ate his lion’s share of cereal growing up. Breakfast by this time had been hijacked by brilliantly colored packages, flimsy prizes, and cartoon characters. Kids were thrilled and weary mothers were beguiled by the lure of fortified grains.

Fast forward. My husband and I started making deliberate choices to eat fewer processed foods after Baby #2. However, there isn’t a stronger parent trap at the grocery store than the one in the breakfast aisle. We began parenthood as two former kids raised by Tony the Tiger and Toucan Sam. It was tough trying to navigate breakfast without a box.

We were eating low-sugar options, but we saw the habit of cereal take away opportunities for our kids to enjoy a variety of flavors and textures. Cutting out all boxed cereal cold turkey can be a heavy slap for kids who are used to the routine of a bowl, spoon, and box. To help our kids transition to a variety of breakfast foods we did the following:

Invited them to look at pictures in cookbooks and put sticky notes on foods that looked yummy.

Had them pick out special fruits in the produce aisle exclusively for breakfast.

Put ’em to work during breakfast prep, like washing berries or stirring the crêpe batter.

We paired new grains, like wheat berries, with familiar fruits and nuts.

When they requested cereal, again, we’d just point out that our bodies need a variety of foods.

We came up with backup breakfasts in case we had a late and lazy morning, when the magnetic urge for a box is strongest. Nut butter smeared on a banana, toast made from good quality bread with a piece of fruit, frozen fruit over plain yogurt and a drizzle of honey.

At our home in Northeastern Colorado we now rotate between sweet and savory breakfasts. During the week we need fast items that can cook while I go over spelling words and locate missing shoes. We eat a lot of eggs from our flock of backyard chickens, smoothies, and oatmeal. But for Halloween, I wanted to expand our breakfast routine and introduce them to Black Forbidden Rice. This strikingly dark whole grain sounds terrifying. Perfect. Special occasions are perfect platforms to introduce new foods and flavors.

I created a wicked-easy recipe for Coconut Rice Pudding that uses leftover rice – I just throw it in the oven when I first wake up and then it’s ready to serve when we are rallying around the table. Rice pudding is filling, comforting, easy, and adaptable. You can make your own coconut milk – or just look for organic brands that can pass the kitchen test.

You and yours can also successfully climb out of the boxed cereal rut. I’m living proof. I don’t even miss the Count.

Have you tried veggie hash on savory days? A recipie I found from A Better Happier St Sebastian was butternut squash hash with leeks (and garlic). Easy to make from boiled cubed squash and chopped leeks. It is a divine way to incorporate veggies in breakfast and not just fruits. Veggie hash is better than starchy potato hash browns too.

Huh. Cereal-with-milk was about the EASIEST less-than-healthy thing I ever eliminated from my diet – Mom always supplied us with corn flakes or Raisin Bran or shredded wheat . . . and I absolutely loathed the texture of all the flake-style cereals. (When I finally had rice pudding, I hated it for the same texture issue, but that’s another story .. . . ). Shredded wheat was OK, especially if I could skip the milk, but when I got to college and started doing my own shopping, it was expensive! Peanut butter and jam on toast was cheaper, higher protein (especially when I had access to a kitchen and could bake bread, or splurged on the whole-foods bread from the “hippie” co-op), easier to carry with me if I was late . . . and no milk. Dot, that sounds like an absolutely delicious recipe, but I take issue with… Read more »

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October 29, 2014 8:37 pm

Welcome!

Hi. My name is Andrew Wilder, and I think healthy eating doesn't have to suck.